First step, look off the beaten path. While the major destination resorts
sell out months in advance at top dollar for February vacation, some smaller
family resorts don’t charge an arm and a leg, and don’t get the big crowds.
Ski areas like Bolton Valley and
Burke in Vermont, or
Mount Abram and
Saddleback in
Maine, can be better bets for shorter lift lines and lift tickets for less
(Saddleback is $49 a day, $35 for kids, for 2,000’ of vertical). Check out
New Hampshire’s family size ski areas like
Gunstock, Ragged and Crotched,
the Granite state vacation is a week later than other New England school
systems – thinning out the number of kids on their slopes.
Think small for big savings. King Pine in
New Hampshire offers all inclusive
vacation week stays at their Purity Springs Resort during vacation week.
It’s like Club Med, only tinier than the French Alps. Families learning to
ski can get lodging, lift tickets to the 350’-vertical ski hill at King
Pine, three meals a day and use of the heated pool, all for about $120 a day
for adults, $40 for kids. February at King Pine is a “wild winter
celebration” with fun family races, equipment demos, night skiing, snow
tubing, fireworks and bonfires.
Last chance, for a snow dance. If you didn’t book last fall (maybe you
should have), call ski resorts now and find out about any last minute
vacancies or cancellations for a night or two at your favorite resort. We
have been surprised to find midweek openings at
Sugarloaf and
Sunday River Grand Summit hotels – you
can steal away for a few nights during the vacation week and satisfy the
family’s craving for carving with two or three days of skiing without
breaking the bank on a week’s worth of premium lodging.
Taking your family skiing in Quebec during the American holiday
provides an almost European ski experience with no airfare expense if you
drive across the border, just be sure you have passports fro the kids and
yourself,
these
French speaking resorts like Le Massif, Mont Sainte Anne and
Tremblant are culturally unique
and the food and après ski is very French too.
If all else fails, call your long lost ski buddy with the ski house. Last and least out of your wallet,
impose on
your friend with a slopeside condo, or a house in ski country but offer to
bring breakfast and dinner and your own linens and towels, or take them out
to dinner in exchange for staying a few nights.
Make the most of your tracks. Be sure to book-end any overnight lodging with
skiing on both our arrival and departure day to maximize your time on the
slopes (while minimizing your lodging tariff). And of course, hit the slopes
early – the best skiing during peak holidays is when the lifts first open
(and other families are still sleeping or searching for someone’s lost
mitten).
Finally, if you find a sweet deal this February, consider booking it for
next year. Some properties honor this year’s rates for next season if you
reserve with a small deposit as you check out. Then next year’s trip to the
mountains is all mapped out.
